Beautiful Illusion by Aubrey Sage Page B

don’t understand… Where is Dante?”
    “Is that who you think you were on a date with? The guy drugged you, and his real name is Rick Jackson, not Dante.”
    “What are you talking about? I’m so confused.” I tried to push myself to my feet, but felt a little too lightheaded to pull myself all the way up.
    “Just relax,” Enigma said. “I saw you get in the car with that guy, and I immediately knew something was off. The guy is a pathological liar, and he uses his lies to pick up women.”
    “How do you know Dante? He’s from Miami.”
    Enigma sighed. “You’re not listening to me. Rick ,” he stressed, “isn’t from Miami. He lives right here in Southern California. Here, let me show you something.” He reached for an iPad that was sitting on the coffee table then navigated to a website. After a few taps, he handed it to me.
    On the front of the iPad was a website, and on that website was a man who was clearly Dante. He didn’t look like the dark haired Dante that I had met that night, but closer to the Dante that I had met on Dateme.com—Blond hair, younger, devilishly handsome. And the car he was standing in front of was the same car that he had picked me up in that night.
    Rickjackson.com.
    Tell Them What They Want To Hear, Show Them What They Want To See by Rick Jackson.
    My head was spinning.
    “He’s a world renowned pickup artist, and if you read his book, you’d be shocked at his method of meeting women. Basically he has a ‘by any means necessary’ methodology, even if that means lying about his entire life or hypnotizing you into bed. And…” He grabbed the iPad from my hands and tapped a few times before handing it back to me. “He’s had a few … incidents.”
    On the iPad was a news article discussing the details of an alleged date rape charge that Rick Jackson had been caught up in.
    I set the iPad down on the table, unable to look at it anymore, and rested my face in my hands. “I can’t believe it. I feel like such an idiot. I knew he looked older than 25, but I had no idea he—”
    “He’s at least twice your age. You’ve got to be more careful with people you talk to online.”
    “Yeah, that was really stupid of me.” I pulled my head back up and took a deep breath. Enigma was just standing there, looking at me with a kind smile on his face, his thick arms bulging and muscles visible through the thin fabric of his tank. He looked sexy but … real, and nothing like the playboy that I had met at McMillan that night. “I owe you so much.”
    “No you don’t. I owed you for what you did for me at the magic show.”
    Emotions suddenly flooded into me. I thought back to the 6 months that I had wasted with Dante, all the nights we shared chatting. The silly, childish dream that maybe I had met my dream lover and the only thing that separated us was distance. But he had even lied to me about his name, and I believed it all. It was all a scam. And here was a man—a kind, talented and gorgeous man whom I had pushed away like a snobby bitch the moment he tried to get to know me.
    The tears started flowing.
    “Hey,” Enigma said awkwardly.
    I couldn’t even respond, and I felt bad for crying in his home, creating such an uncomfortable situation for him. I’m sure he wasn’t used to being around crying girls, and much less girls who elevated their crying into sobs and sad wails the way that I did that night.
    “Ummm… Hey,” he said awkwardly again, and then I felt his presence slide beside me on the couch, a gentle hand patting my back, a gentle arm pulled around me. “It’s alright.”
    Thank you. I thought to myself. I couldn’t even say it out loud amidst my sobs, but that’s what I wanted to say to him. I wanted to thank him for saving me and being there for me when I needed him the most.
    His arm was loose and friendly, but I fell into him and wrapped myself around his hard torso in a tight embrace. My eyes were closed, so I have no idea what he may have been